The field of the disclosure relates generally to situational awareness information, and more specifically, to a portable aircraft that may be used to capture situational awareness information.
Situational awareness information is helpful and/or necessary when entering a hostile or remote environment that may contain hazardous terrain, objects, and/or people. For example, military, law enforcement, firefighters, disaster-recovery teams, and/or search and rescue teams openly rely on time-critical situational awareness information prior to and sometimes during deployment in an area that may threaten their lives. Situational awareness information can provide information that enables a person to mitigate or eliminate their risk before advancing into or from a hostile or remote environment.
Some known situational awareness systems utilize Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to gather information but the costs of such systems may limit their use in a number of situations because of the large team of operators necessary to support the system, as well as the need to employ a wide range of systems, networks, and logistical support. Moreover, such systems may also be expensive to manufacture and/or may require a substantial effort to transport. Accordingly, there is a need for a portable, cost-effective system that is capable of capturing situational awareness information.